There are periods on the mountain when you exist between living and dying, sometimes for days. I went through that with my brother on Nanga Parbat. It is very difficult, but it is the most intense experience. And always after such experiences, when I was back among people, I felt I had been reborn.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the profound experiences of life and death during extreme challenges in mountaineering, leading to a sense of renewal.
Reinhold Messner describes the intense struggle between life and death he experienced while climbing Nanga Parbat with his brother. These moments, although harrowing, brought him a sense of rebirth and a deeper appreciation for life once he returned to the company of others. This reflects on how facing overwhelming challenges can lead to personal transformation and a renewed perspective on existence.
In practice
In a motivational speech at a climbers' conference, emphasizing the growth that comes from overcoming near-death experiences.
I became famous for the fact that I would break many, many limits. People said, 'He does all these crazy things.' But oddly it was a crazy thing only because scientists and climbers said, 'Everest and the 8,000-meter peaks without oxygen - impossible. Messner is becoming sick in his head.'
A 30-year-old rock climber is an old man. At 40, one is in the middle of his high-altitude power. At 50, a crosser of deserts is at his best age. But at 60, each of us is out of the game.
I think my cultural work is more important than the adventures I did. The adventures are not important for human beings. It's the conquering of the useless.
In mountaineering, there is not only the activity, but the philosophy behind it. Some say a moral, but I am against that because all morality is dangerous.
I was the first man to climb the world's 14 tallest peaks without supplementary oxygen, but I never asked how high I would go, just how I would do it.
In my state of spiritual abstraction, I no longer belong to myself and to my eyesight. I am nothing more than a single narrow gasping lung, floating over the mists and summits.
We live in a time of turmoil. Earthquakes and tsunamis wreak devastation, governments collapse, economic stresses are severe, the family is under attack,_x000D_ and divorce rates are rising. We have great cause for concern. But we do not need to let our fears displace our faith. We can combat those fears by strengthening our faith.
Our nation was built and civilized by men and women who used guns in self-defense and in pursuit of peace. One wonders indeed, if the rising crime rate, isn't due as much as anything to the criminal's instinctive knowledge that the average victim no longer has means of self-protection.
It is always the adventurers who do great things, not the sovereigns of great empires.
Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.
I have nothing to hide. I enjoy being myself. I'm not going to change who I am just because it's Halloween.
Bullies, oppressors and all men who do violence to the rights of others are guilty not only of their own crimes, but also of the corruption they bring into the hearts of their victims.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.